Documentary photographer Doug
Menuez spent 15 years documenting the everyday activities of
some of the
biggest names in tech, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos,
Steve Wozniak, and John Sculley.

But Menuez says that it was photographing Steve Jobs that had the
biggest impact on his life.

"Steve was the most inspiring person I ever met. As a
photojournalist, I like to hide behind my lens and capture other
people's moments," Menuez told Business Insider. "He forced me to
confront my own motivations, who I
was."

Menuez spent three years photographing Jobs at NeXT, the
personal computing company he started after he was ousted from
Apple in 1985. The photos were meant to be published in Life
magazine.

"The photos were his idea," Menuez said. "He knew he was a
historical figure. I just showed up at the right place at
the right time."

The office environment at NeXT was intense, and Menuez says he
felt burned out at the end of the project.

"They were constantly hiring absolutely brilliant people.
Steve was constantly challenging, prodding people to work above
their abilities. It was about inventing the impossible. If you
were there, you signed up for the mission," Menuez said. "Steve
had a lot at risk here. The stakes were high. He wanted revenge.
He was becoming a symbol of a whole new generation coming into
the Valley."

"I wasn't trying to be his friend, but just being in the
room was amazing," he said. "I would've followed him through
fire."

The photos were never published, since Jobs had decided
Life magazine was no longer cool by the time the project was
finished. The prints remained hidden away in boxes for years,
until Menuez assembled his work from the period in a
book called
"Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon
Valley," which Atria Books
published in June.